THINKing

#tweeta20 – That’s A Wrap

Well, #tweeta20 – the social media project designed to raise awareness and funds for Thompson Child & Family Focus -  is behind us now and I think it was a success. I think we raised more awareness of the good work that Thompson does than we did money. Although we raised at least $4,000 via social media at last count.

Tweeta20 – A Non-Profit Social Media Pilot Project

On Tuesday, May 11, nine Charlotte social media folks and I will spend an hour trying to raise money for Thompson Child & Family Focus, an organization that has spent nearly 125 years providing education, treatment and support for children traumatized by sexual abuse, domestic violence or rampant neglect.

It’s Time For A Social Media Takeover

It’s time for a social media takeover. But who should launch this bloodless coup? Marketing and advertising have historically been more about one-way communication. That rules them out.

I say it is the PR professional that should lead the charge. We have always been – at least in theory – focused on dialogue.

Give It Up

Christmas is a time for giving, but somehow we’ve gotten this holiday turned around a bit. Every year I promote Holiday For Charity, a simple way to help charity during the season of giving. I just heard about a couple of other ways to augment the Holiday For Charity program – GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com. Here’s what they say about the programs:

Random Readings

A few things I’ve been reading.

Businesses: Get Your Social Media On
Almost 60 percent of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. These are among the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study.

Word

The oldest form of media still is the best when it comes to spurring consumer action. Word-of-mouth from family and friends still is the most trusted source of information, despite all the hype about the digital world and social media. This is borne out by a Mediavest survey on trust in sources of political information. The survey indicates,

This Is A Gas

Flatulence is funny, no matter how old you get. We had an opportunity to develop a viral website and animated videos that revolve around gas. It’s the only time we ever have used the word “flatulence” in a new business proposal. BernzOmatic gave us the go-ahead and the site now is online.

Cheaper To Keep

You’ve heard it all before when it comes to stats about customer retention. Some say that acquiring a customer costs five to 10 times more than retaining one. Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more. After 10 purchases a customer has referred as many as seven other people. I’m not sure about the math, but I am sure that the underlying premise is correct: keeping existing customers is cheaper than getting new ones.

It’s In The Cards

I was talking to a young man last night whose company has filed for bankruptcy and he is out of a job. He already has developed a business plan and is preparing to start this enterprise. I applaud this action, since I am a huge advocate of owning your own business. Job security at a big company is a myth. You are much more secure when you control your own destiny. OK, sermon over.

Bad PR Guy, Naughty PR Guy. Social Media Is Outing You!

Chris Brogan has an excellent post about a PR executive who blind emailed a news release to him a couple of days ago and embargoed it. Here’s the salient paragraph: